Peek Over Our Shoulders: What Rioters Are Reading On June 18, 2015

In this feature at Book Riot, we give you a glimpse of what we are reading this very moment.

Here is what the Rioters are reading today (as in literally today). This is what’s on their bedside table (or the floor, work bag, desk, whatevskis). See a Rioter who is reading your favorite book? I’ve included the link that will take you to their author archives (meaning, that magical place that organizes what they’ve written for the site). Gird your loins – this list combined with all of those archived posts will make your TBR list EXPLODE.

We’ve shown you ours, now show us yours; let us know what you’re reading (right this very moment) in the comment section below!

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev: so many Rioters are already raving about Dev’s follow-up, A Bollywood Bride, which comes out in September that I thought I better check out the first. (ebook)

Me, My Hair, and I, edited by Elizabeth Benedict (Sept. 29th, Algonquin): A collection of essays about race, religion, and culture as it relates to women’s hair. I’ve only in the last few years accepted my giant, curly hair (and thrown away my flat iron), so this was of special interest. (ARC)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: Have heard great things about this YA debut inspired by ancient Rome, and it’s making for such an engrossing audiobook. The kind that makes you miss your exit. (audio)

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz (September, Candlewick): Historical comedy in diary format about a girl who wants out of farm life and dreams of becoming a domestic worker. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PREMISE IS MADE OF SQUEE. (ARC)

Blind Goddess by Anne Holt: After reading and absolutely adoring 1222, obviously I had to go back to start at the beginning of the series! (Paperback)

The Truth and Other Liesby Sascha Arango: Because “dark, witty, and suspenseful” has my thriller-loving heart unable to wait I bumped it up on my TBR list. (egalley)

Sofrito by Phillippe Diederich: Sofrito is one of my favorite smells EVER so the title had me. Add a NY chef who travels to Cuba hoping to save his restaurant by getting his hands on a top-secret recipe and I couldn’t grab this book fast enough. (egalley)

My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews: I’m rereading the queen of Gothic fiction many, many years later with a fellow Rioter (her first time reading) for an upcoming chat. (Paperback)

The Shore by Sarah Taylor: All the buzz on this one completely sucked me in. I’m an easy sell when it comes to connected short stories, and I hear that’s exactly how this one goes down, even though the blurb doesn’t own up to it. (ebook)

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: Sometimes it takes a really long time for me to get around to reading a book. Now that I’m finally reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, I can’t believe I waited this long. This book. is. so. good. (Paperback)

Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutby Kristin Hersh: Hersh, musician and founder of Throwing Muses, is also the author of Rat Girl, one of the best memoirs I’ve read. Excited for her new book about her friendship with the legendary Chestnut. (e-galley)

A Planet for Rentby Yoss: Cuban science fiction in translation! What’s not to love? (galley)

In Another Country: Stories by David Constantine: Constantine’s first North American publication, but apparently he’s already a legend across the pond. (galley)

Last Year’s Mistake by Gina Ciocca (June 9th, Simon Pulse): A swoon-filled love story with a narrative that jumps back forth, revealing the before and after of a teen love story. A little bit The Night We Said Yes, which I dig. (Hardcover)

The Heirby Kiera Cass (May 5th, Harper Teen): The fourth book in Cass’s ongoing Selection series. I can’t get enough of this drama. (Hardcover)

Stormbringer by Alis Franklin (July 21, Hydra): The sequel to my favorite book of 2014, Liesmith. Great worldbuilding into a mythology about which I knew very little (Norse) and a hell of a ride across multiple worlds. (egalley)

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: Fairy tales and dragons at the hand of the author of the Temeraire books? Yes, please. (ebook)

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: Two essays, one short and one long, touch upon several concepts of the black experience that are far too timely to have been written fifty years ago. Experiencing it i very small pieces for ultimate digestion. (paperback)

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume: When a storyteller as prolific as Blume says this is the story she was meant to tell and all of her previous work was leading up to this one (final?) book…well, you read it. (Hardcover)

Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler: I’ve read all of one short story by this Sci-Fi paragon and I intend to change that with this collection. (Hardcover)

Taipei by Tao Lin: This has been in my TBR pile for two Christmases, and I’m finally getting to it. Taipei is one of those of-the-moment works about my generation that I almost fear reading. (paperback)

H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald: I have been waiting for this book through my library holds for months. MacDonald’s writing is captivating, and her exploration of grief and renewal both challenges and inspires me. (Library Hardcover)

Kristy’s Great Idea: The Baby-Sitters Club Graphix #1 by Ann M. Martin and Raina Telgemeier: I feel my childhood swoop in over me as I read this graphic novel and remember my favorite characters: bold Kristy, quiet Mary Anne, artistic Claudia, and New York City chic Stacy. I still love this series, even as I’ve long outgrown it. (Library Paperback)

The Stranger by Albert Camus: This is a reread in preparation for reading The Meursault Investigation, a retelling from the perspective of the Arab victims, by Kamel Daoud.

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas: It’s summer and I’m trying to catch up with some of my favorite romance authors. (e-book)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: Finally getting on the Rowell love train. I’m so into this one I keep making excuses to run errands and take walks. (audio)

Angel Cruz

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray: So very excited for this one, though I find myself paging through The Diviners now and again to remind myself of what happened. (e-galley)

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan: I wanted to get to this book last month, but wasn’t really feeling darker stories. I have loved Ryan’s other books however, so I’m confident I’ll enjoy this one too. (ARC)

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz: I’ve been looking forward to this book since Hannah first started talking about it, and she’s one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter. (library book)

Anya’s Ghostby Vera Brosgol: My graphic novel pick for the month has come highly recommended from many friends, so I fully expect to love it. (paperback)

Kristel Autencio

Children of the Alley by Naguib Mahfouz (the Peter Theroux translation): I read and loved Mahfouz’s The Harafish a long time ago but this title just got buried under my hoarding tendencies. It’s dense but a little bit awe-inspiring. (trade paperback)

Fer-de-Lanceby Rex Stout: Getting into Golden Age mysteries has been my ongoing thing for years, and this is my very first foray into the Nero Wolfe world. (audiobook via Scribd)

The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada: Japanese mysteries is another branch of the genre that interests me, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read read this reprint of a 1981 classic. (e-galley)